Guest Post: Cranberry BBQ Chicken Sandwich and Some Cool Cranberry Facts and Tips From The Cranberry Institute

Recently I was very fortunate to contacted by the Cranberry Institute with an opportunity to blog in their behalf.  They sent me some great tips for incorporating cranberries into the diet and some interesting facts about cranberries and health as well -all of which are listed below.  Also included is an awesome Cranberry BBQ Sauce Recipe from them too!!  I would like to thank the Cranberry Institute for this info and I will likely be posting more about cranberries in the future. 

Tips: Four Things You May Not Know about Cranberries

-Cranberry products, including cranberry juice cocktail, dried cranberries, cranberry sauce and fresh/frozen cranberries contain proanthocyanidins or PACs.

-PACs are flavonoids that are unique to cranberries because they have a different structure than the PACs found in other fruits.  

-PACs prevent bacteria from sticking to the cell walls – for example, they prevent E. coli from sticking to the walls of the bladder which is associated with urinary tract infections. 

-Cranberry products are usually sweetened because, unlike other berries, cranberries are naturally low in sugar and high in acidity so they require sweetening to be palatable. In fact, fresh cranberries have similar sugar content to a lemon. 

Tricks: Ways to Use Cranberries You Haven’t Thought of Before

-Sprinkle dried cranberries on cereal or yogurt

- Add tartness to barbecue sauces by stirring in cranberry sauce
- Puree frozen cranberries with sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes or other veggies
- Add dried cranberries to muffin and bread mixes
- Combine cranberry sauce with cheese for a sweet and quesadilla filling
- Blend frozen cranberries into fruit smoothies

Cranberry BBQ Chicken Sandwich

Makes 6 sandwiches

Ingredients

Cranberry BBQ Sauce* (makes 1 cup):

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 cup minced yellow onions

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. dry mustard

1 tsp. chili powder

1 ½ Tbsp. tomato paste

1 ½ cups cranberry sauce

¼ cup cider vinegar

1 Tbsp. dark molasses

¼-½ cup water, if needed

Sandwich:

10 oz. cooked white chicken meat, diced or shredded

1 cup Cranberry BBQ Sauce*

6 whole-grain buns, split

1 ½ cups prepared creamy coleslaw

Directions

For Cranberry BBQ Sauce*:

1. In a sauce pan, heat oil over medium-high heat; add onions and sauté 2 minutes. Mix in garlic, mustard and chili powder and continue cooking 1 minute. Stir in tomato paste and cook 1 more minute.

2. Add cranberry sauce, vinegar and molasses and bring to a simmer, whisking often until mixture becomes smooth. Lower heat and simmer 15-20 minutes or until mixture reduces and thickens. Add water to mixture if it gets too thick. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Place in a covered container and refrigerate until ready to use. Reheat before using.

For Sandwich Filling:

3. Heat prepared Cranberry BBQ Sauce*. Add chicken and bring to a simmer. Keep warm.

To Assemble Sandwich:

4. For each sandwich, scoop ½ cup BBQ chicken onto a bun and top with ¼ cup coleslaw. Replace bun top on sandwich and serve accompanied by cut raw vegetables and/or fresh apple wedges.

Recipe courtesy of the Cranberry Marketing Committee

www.cranberryinstitute.org

Makes 6 Sandwiches

(Nutrition Facts Completed by myself- using my Kale Coleslaw Recipe)

Serving size: 1 Sandwich Calories 410 Protein 21 g Carb 61 g Fiber 4 g Sugars 36 g Fat 9 g Saturated fat 1 g Sodium 380 mg